Method for producing thin film gloves using the cutting and sealing process and glove produced therefrom

ABSTRACT

A single use disposable glove having two or more layers with a thickness which can range from 0.02 mm to 0.04 mmm for food handling with satisfactory formfitting and durability, all the way up to about 0.10 mm and above for heavy duty applications while still maintaining comfort like that of natural and synthetic rubbers. Materials such as styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene (SEBS) or styrene-isoprene-styrene (SIS) may be used to produce single use disposable gloves employing the cutting and sealing method. The use of these compositions could have a thickness between about 0.02 mm and about 0.1 mm or above. More importantly, the use of these compositions in the cutting and sealing process would yield a glove having better elasticity. The film quality using the various extrusion techniques would outperform a glove produced by the dipping process, not only in integrity (pinhole rate) but also in a thickness profile (uniformity).

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application is a continuation of U.S. Continuation-in-Part patentapplication Ser. No. 14/039,702, filed Sep. 27, 2013, and claimspriority to and the benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional patent applicationSer. No. 12/923,198, filed Sep. 8, 2010, which are incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method of producing a single usedisposable glove using the cutting and sealing process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The most widely used element to protect an individual's hand during workor other endeavors would be a glove. Historically, gloves were producedutilizing a large number of different processes as well as various sortsof materials depending on the variety of applications.

For example, gloves used in gardening and in sports which would requirethe use of a heavy duty material would be made by sewing pieces of thesematerials together. These materials would include, but are not limitedto leather, fabric, non-woven cloth and various combinations of thesematerials. Furthermore, these types of gloves were made to last througha number of repetitive usages. Additionally, the purpose of these typesof gloves was to protect the user's hand and not necessarily otherindividuals.

Single use disposable gloves have been produced for utilization in, butnot limited to medical procedures as well as for use in the food serviceindustry. These types of single use gloves are employed to protect boththe user as well as other individuals from contact with various germs orpathogens. Generally, these types of single use disposable gloves aremanufactured using a dipping method or a cutting and heat sealingmethod.

The dipping method would employ a three dimensional hand shaped formerwhich is introduced into a forming liquid compound. A portion of theforming liquid compound would adhere to the hand shaped former toproduce a thin layer of film thereon. After this thin layer of filmsolidifies, the thin layer film would be stripped from the former,thereby producing a glove. This type of process is generally utilized toproduce medical examination and surgical gloves, due to the fact thatthe combination of the three dimensional former would yield a glovewhich is relatively form fitting on the user's hand. This is due in partto the effective elasticity of the materials used during the dippingprocess. This form fitting characteristic of gloves produced by thedipping process is measured by applying stress to the glove for thepurpose of deforming the glove and then releasing the glove from thestress. A measurement is then made as to whether the glove fullyrecovered to its original shape after being released from the stress.For example, utilizing a rubber glove formed from the dipping process,the deformation after a 100% stretch is less than 10%.

The dipping process employs a wide range of plastic and rubber polymerssuch as, but not limited to, natural rubber latex (NRL), carboxylatedacrylonitrile butadiene copolymer (Nitrile), polyisoprene (PI),polychloroporene (Neoprene), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC)etc., as well as the various combinations produced via blending andcopolymerization of these materials. A combination of these materialscan be used from a blend of two or more of these compounds in a singledipping step. Conversely, a multiple dipping process producing astructured film provided with multiple layers can be employed.Generally, medical gloves produced by the dipping process would have athickness of at least 0.08 mm for natural rubber latex or at least 0.05mm for the aforementioned compounds. This parameter is required by theFDA and/or ASTM. Additionally, it is noted that it would be extremelydifficult, if not impossible, to use the dipping process to producefilms having a thickness of less than 0.05 mm without compromising theintegrity of the produced film. Among the aforementioned materials, NRL,Nitrile and PVC would account for at least 95% of all commerciallyproduced medical examination gloves. Table 1 lists the major attributesof these gloves.

TABLE 1 Typical properties of dipped PVC, NRL and Nitrile medicalexamination gloves Properties PVC NRL Nitrile Tensile Strength (MPA)11~15 18~25 25~40 Elongation (%) 300~400 ~800 ~600 Deformation after100% stretch (%)  8~15 ~5  5~10 Thickness range (mm) 0.05~0.10 0.08~0.120.05~0.12 Weight (grams) 3.5~10   3~10 2.5~10 

While the physical properties of these gloves are quite different interms of tensile strength and elongation, they also share quite somecommon characteristics such as thickness, weight, and deformation; afterall, the application is the same, for medical examination.

Due to the fact that the combination of the three dimensional former andthe minimal deformation, all these materials could yield very good formfitting articles. To characterize the form fitting parameter, a specimenis stressed to deform the article and is then the form is released tomeasure if the article could fully recover to its original shape.Quantitatively, the dumbbell specimen is stretched to 100% elongationand is held for ten seconds. The specimen is released and the length isimmediately measured, as well as within ten seconds of the release. Asthe data in Table 1 is demonstrated, all the gloves have a deformationless than 15%, demonstrating that these gloves are form fitting gloves.

Another common characteristic is the fact that all of these gloves arethicker than 0.05 mm. On one hand, it is required by FDA regulations andASTM standards for medical devices. On the other hand technically, it isalso extremely difficult, if not impossible to dip films at thicknessless than 0.05 mm without compromising film integrity severely.

Dipped gloves are mainly used as medical devices as well as commonlyseen in food service industries. However, the majority of food servicegloves are made via a cutting and sealing process. The prior art cuttingand sealing process would utilize polymers extruded by, but not limitedto, blowing, casting or calendaring the polymers into thin films. Twofilms would be laid upon each other on a flat surface. If a glove is tobe produced, a metallic hand shaped knife constructed from, but notlimited to, copper or stainless steel would be applied to the top of thefirst film to cut through both film layers. Since the hand shaped knifeis also heated, the layers would be welded together along the cuttingline as the films are cut to form one glove.

Table 2 illustrates the properties of a typical prior art food serviceglove manufactured by polyethylene (PE) using the cutting and sealingmethod.

TABLE 2 Typical properties of cut and sealed PE food service gloveProperties PE Tensile Strength (MPa) 11~15 Elongation (%) ~600Deformation after 100% stretch (%) 30~50 Thickness range (mm) 0.01~0.02Weight (grams)  <2

Disposable gloves used in the food service industry are generallymanufactured using this process. The most common material for thisprocess is polyethylene. Due to the combination of producing the glovesusing a two dimensional flat former and the plastic nature ofpolyethylene, in contradistinction to the gloves formed by the dippingprocess, the gloves produced by the cutting and sealing process are muchless form fitting to the user's hand. As a matter of fact, these glovesare very baggy and clumsy for task performance. In terms of deformationafter a 100% stretch of the produced gloves, in contrast to the 10%recovery of the materials generally used in the dipping process, the useof polyethylene would exhibit a deformation of 30%, or even 50%.Furthermore, since these gloves could have a thickness of less than 0.02mm, the durability of these gloves is poor. Technically, to excludethicker films is not a problem, but such a thick polyethylene glovewould be very uncomfortable to wear and would be difficult to performthe required tasks needed in the food handling industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The deficiencies of the prior art are addressed by the present inventionwhich describes a process of producing a single use disposable gloveusing the cutting and sealing process. In a first embodiment, thisprocess would produce a glove having two or more layers with a thicknessin the range of 0.02 mm to 0.06 mm. A second embodiment would produce aglove having two or more layers with a thickness which can range from0.02 mm to 0.04 mmm for food handling with satisfactory formfitting anddurability, all the way up to about 0.10 mm and above for heavy dutyapplications while still maintaining comfort like that of natural andsynthetic rubbers.

In the first embodiment, a number of polymeric materials would be usedin place of the prior art use of polyethylene to produce single usedisposable gloves employing the cutting and sealing method. Thesematerials would include, but are not limited to, polyvinyl chloride, apolyolefin copolymer such as ethylene propylene copolymer. The use ofthese compositions would have a thickness between 0.02 mm to 0.06 mm andwould have a much improved durability than the 0.02 mm polyethylene filmproduced by the prior art. More importantly, the use of thesecompositions in the cutting and sealing process would yield a glovehaving better elasticity than plastic polyethylene. This deformationwould be between 10%-30% and, in some cases, even less than 10%,comparable to that of the rubbery articles produced by the dippingmethod. The film quality using the various extrusion techniques wouldoutperform a glove produced by the dipping process, not only inintegrity (pinhole rate) but also in a thickness profile (uniformity).

In the second embodiment, materials such asstyrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene (SEBS) or styrene-isoprene-styrene(SIS) may be used in place of the prior art use of polyethylene toproduce single use disposable gloves employing the cutting and sealingmethod. The use of these compositions would could have a thicknessbetween about 0.02 mm to about 0.1 mm or above, and would have a muchimproved durability than the 0.02 mm polyethylene film produced by theprior art. More importantly, the use of these compositions in thecutting and sealing process would yield a glove having better elasticitythan plastic polyethylene. This deformation would be between 5% and 30%,and more preferably between 5% and 15%, comparable to that of therubbery articles produced by the dipping method. The film quality usingthe various extrusion techniques would outperform a glove produced bythe dipping process, not only in integrity (pinhole rate) but also in athickness profile (uniformity).

While in theory a dipping process could also yield multiple layeredstructures via multiple dipping steps, in reality in the marketplace, itis rare to find a commercially viable glove that is made of two layersof different materials, or use different formulations. As a matter offact, almost all gloves made via a double dipping process do not usedifferent materials, or different formulations. This is becausedifferent materials may require quite different mechanisms andconditions to cure, but the dipping line conditions are always the same.In the case that a double dipping process employed two differentformulations or materials, those would form the inner and outer surfaceof the resulted glove. Since the dipped article forms one piece, thereis no way to have such a case that the palm and the back are made fromdifferent formulations or materials.

This invention can produce gloves 1 that have much more complicatedstructures than a dipping process. First of all, it is easy to createmultiple layered structured films using coextrusion. For a thin film, itis common to have triple layers or more, not to mention only two layers.Secondly, since the glove seals two separate films, 10 and 15, upon eachother with one side 15 being the palm and the other side 10 being theback, one can produce a glove with the palm and back made from differentmaterials. Furthermore, due to the fact that two separate films, 10 and15, could be produced in different machines, one can easily produce aglove 1 having the palm of one thickness and the back of anotherthickness. Therefore, one can increase the palm thickness for durabilityimprovement whereas lower the thickness of the back for cost reduction.Consistent with the fact that the thicknesses of the two separate filmsare different, the weight of each of the films could also be different.For example, one of the layers could account for 50%˜70% of the totalglove weight, whereas the second layer would encompass 30%˜50% of thetotal glove weight.

In terms of thickness control, the dipping process usually yields abroad range of thicknesses. For most of the glove, if the palm or cuffthickness is desired to be 0.06 mm, the entire thickness profile overthe surface of the glove could be anywhere between 0.05 mm to 0.10 mm.This should be compared to the extruded film utilized in the cutting andsealing process which would allow the thickness control position to bemuch better. If the desired thickness is 0.06 mm, the glove can easilybe manufactured having a profile narrower than 0.055 to 0.065 mm, oreven ±0.002 mm, which could not be produced using the prior art dippingprocess.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the glove in the shape of a hand; and

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the glove along the line A-A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the poor plastic deformation afterstress produced by the prior art cutting and sealing process employingpolyethylene to produce the multiple layers of the glove. In a firstembodiment, this is accomplished by utilizing a family of thermoplasticelastomers such as, but not limited to, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene,polyurethane, polybutene, styrene-butadiene copolymers,ethylene-propylene copolymers, their mixtures as well as their blends.The use of these compositions for one, both, or additional film layerswould produce a glove having a thickness in the range of 0.02 mm to 0.05mm with excellent film integrity, but also good elasticity, therebyreducing hand fatigue. With improved hand shape, not only would theglove be classified as truly form fitting, but it would also exhibitimproved durability as well as increased thickness without increasingthe weight.

Comparing the materials used in the present invention with the dippingtechnology, in addition to film quality and reduced thickness, theutilization of the cutting and sealing process employing the filmsproduced by the above-listed compositions, would provide for a moreversatile film structure, as well as glove material selection. Forexample, utilizing polyvinyl chloride to make a plastisol compoundsuitable for the manufacture of a glove using the dipping process, verylimited choices on plasticized selections can be made. This is true, forexample, since the dipping compound must be liquid at room temperature.More critically, the material that is utilized must have a viscosity ata certain range for thickness and film tensile strength optimization.Using the cutting and sealing approach, the film forming extrusionprocess could be produced but not limited to blowing, casting orcalendaring. Since the extrusion machine would be able to utilize asolid resin, there is no limit on the viscosity, since one can evenutilize non-liquid form plasticizers.

The following examples would illustrate the present invention ascompared to a prior art glove using polyvinyl chloride in the dippingprocess as well as the prior art glove produced by polyethylene usingthe cutting and sealing process.

EXAMPLE 1 Polyvinyl Chloride and Phthalates Plasticizer

Traditionally, utilizing a polyvinyl chloride liquid compound that issuitable for producing a glove employing the dipping process, viscosityand boiling point requirements prohibited the choices of plasticizerstremendously. Among the many families of plasticizers, dialkylphthalates are most widely adopted. This is a very highly controversialsituation since there are concerns about their effect on health and foodcontact, most noticeably utilizing diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP).However, using an extruder to produce films employed in the cutting andsealing process, the requirement for plasticizers is much more flexible.Not only can one choose a non-conventional plasticizer such as citrates,adipates and polyesters, even for the same plasticizers, the use ofextrusion to produce the film layers could adopt a much widerplasticizer range because of no limit on the viscosity. As a result ofthat, a polyvinyl chloride glove produced by the cutting and sealingprocess could be more flexible or durable depending upon its intendedapplication.

As one of the most widely used thermoplastic materials, polyvinylchloride has been used far beyond the medical examination gloveindustry. However, whether used in the glove industry or not, the mostwidely plasticizer used with polyvinyl chloride is diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP) or dioctyl phthalate (DOP) family. This combinationshows excellent heat sealability used in the cutting and sealingprocess. Table 3 illustrates the properties of heat sealed PVC/DEHPgloves. This table shows the use of different thicknesses of the glove.However, the composition of each of the gloves is the same.

TABLE 3 Properties of cut and heat sealed PVC/DEHP gloves Properties PVC1 PVC2 Tensile Strength (MPa) ~15 ~15 Elongation (%) ~340 ~340Deformation after 100% stretch (%) ~11 ~11 Thickness range (mm) 0.040 ±0.002 0.060 ± 0.002 Weight (grams) 2.7 3.5 Phthalates Content (%) 50 50

It is certainly not surprising that the characteristics of the glovesillustrated in Table 3 showed almost the identical tensile strength,elongation and deformation of the gloves illustrated in Table 1 producedby the dipping method. This is due to the fact that these properties arelargely influenced by the particular formulations. Film formationprocess has little impact on these parameters. This is obviously truewith the PVC glove shown in Table 1. However, it is quite important thatthe gloves shown in Table 3 are noticeably lighter than the gloves shownin Table 1. Even at a thickness of 0.060 mm, the gloves shown in Table 3are much lighter than the gloves shown in Table 1. The PVC gloveillustrated in Table 1 is greater than 5 grams. This is contrasted tothe PVC gloves illustrated in Table 3 having a weight of 2.7 or 3.5grams. It would be impossible to produce an overall weight of 3.5 gramsfor a PVC glove using the dipping process. Clearly it would be even moredifficult to produce a PVC glove from the dipping process having aweight of 2.7 grams without compromising film integrity. Furthermore,since the PVC gloves shown in Table 3 are lighter than the PVC as wellas NRL and Nitrile gloves shown in Table 1, less material is used,producing a savings in the cost of producing the glove. It is noted thatthe formulation of the PVC1 and PVC2 gloves in Table 3 area identical.The only differences between these two gloves are the amount of materialin one or more layers of film to produce gloves having differentthicknesses or weight.

Even comparing with conventional polyvinyl chloride gloves, the glovesproduced by the present invention is more environmentally friendly.There is no fusing at high temperature needed, resulting in only a smallamount of plasticizers released into the atmosphere, thereby creating amore energy efficient system. Additionally, the polyvinyl glove producedby the present invention insures a more healthy working environmentalcondition to the worker's using the gloves as well as reducing firehazard dangers. Furthermore, since the PVC gloves shown in Table 3 weremuch lighter than those gloves shown in Table 1, they will be morecomfortable when used by the workers.

EXAMPLE 2 Polyvinyl Chloride without Phthalates Plasticizers

As previously described in Example 1, DEHP has been used as aplasticizer with polyvinyl chloride. However, since there are concernsabout the use of DEHP as a plasticizer, Example 2 employs a polyvinylchloride liquid compound without phthalate plasticizers. Even though PVCglove manufacturers using the dipping method have steadily migrated fromthe use of DEHP, the plasticizer choices are still confined to thephthalates family mostly using diisononyl phthalate (DINP) as thealternative to DEHP.

Using a film forming extrusion process such as, but not limited toblowing, casting or calendaring, the requirement for plasticizers ismore flexible. Various non-conventional plasticizers such as, but notlimited to adipates, citrates, azelates, phosphates, trimellitates,chlorinated paraffin as well as their combinations via mixing can beused. Even for the same plasticizers, extrusion could adopt a much widerplasticizer range because of no limit on viscosity. As a result, apolyvinyl chloride glove made from the cutting and sealing process couldbe more flexible or durable dependent upon the intended applications.Table 4 lists the properties of two PVC gloves produced by the cuttingand sealing process without the use of phthalates.

TABLE 4 Properties cut and heat sealed phthalates free PVC glovesProperties PVC 3 PVC 4 Tensile Strength (MPa) 15 20 Elongation (%) 340278 Deformation after 100% stretch (%) 11 12 Thickness range (mm) 0.040± 0.002 0.040 ± 0.002 Weight (grams) 2.7 2.7 Phthalates Content (%) N/AN/A

Without the limitation on the viscosity of plasticizer choices, it ispossible to produce a PVC glove with tensile strength that is comparablewith that of natural rubber latex at 20 MPa. Furthermore, since nophthalates have been used, this glove is more environmentally friendlyas well as less hazardous to the user. A standard thermal stabilizer isalways used in a PVC glove. However, the thermal stabilizer does nothave any impact on the sealing procedure. Generally, the thermalstabilizer would be approximately 1 or 2% of the composition. Forexample, PVC3 uses a trimellitate family of plasticizers and PVC4 usedan adipate family of plasticizers.

EXAMPLE 3 Ethylene Propylene Copolymer (EPC)

Generally, as previously described, gloves used in the food serviceindustry are predominantly constructed from polyethylene. These filmsare formed using either a blowing or casting process prior to employingthe cutting and sealing process. Typically, the thickness of thesegloves is purposely controlled to be less than 0.02 mm. If the glove isthicker than 0.02 mm, plastic polyethylene can be quite tough. Not onlyis it impossible to form the application as desired, but it could alsoquickly cause hand fatigue. As a result of thin thickness, thepolyethylene gloves produced by the cutting and sealing process were notdurable. As a matter of fact, most of these gloves were disposed inseveral minutes.

The present invention utilizing a glove produced by an ethylenepropylene copolymer film is almost as flexible as the glove produced byrubbery materials. Additionally, at a thickness of between 0.030 and0.060 mm, it is soft and comfortable without causing finger fatigueafter one hour of use, as well as being durable.

Table 5 shows a comparison of the present invention using two ethylenepropylene copolymers produced by the cutting and sealing process.

TABLE 5 Properties of EPC cut and sealed gloves Properties EPC 1 EPC 2Tensile Strength (MPa) 22 21 Elongation (%) 577 618 Deformation after100% stretch (%) 11 12 Thickness range (mm) 0.045 ± 0.002 0.060 ± 0.002Weight (grams) 2.5 3.1

Comparing the two EPC gloves shown in Table 5 with a conventionalpolyethylene glove formed by the cutting and sealing process, the gloveproduced by the present invention is more environmentally friendly.Approximately the same amount of materials would be used to produce theEPC glove according to the present invention with respect to thepolyethylene glove. However, the glove according to the presentinvention has a greater thickness than the conventional polypropyleneglove thereby creating a glove which is more durable. EPC1 and EPC2 havea high propylene content of between 70 and 90%. The difference betweenEPC1 and EPC2 is the amount of material used in one or more of thefilms, thereby producing a glove (EPC2) which is thicker and heavierthan EPC1.

EXAMPLE 4 Ethylene Propylene Copolymer (EPC)

By choosing a variety of ethylene propylene copolymers (EPC) withdifferent ethylene to propylene ratios, it is possible to produce aglove having vastly different performance characteristics. In terms ofthickness deformation, a glove can be produced having as low as lessthan 10% deformation after 100% stretch which is comparable to rubberymaterials to almost 30% completely plastic materials. It is possible toproduce a glove having a thickness of 0.04 mm which is still comfortableto be utilized. Properties of additional EPC gloves produced byadditional EPC copolymers are shown in Table 6. EPC3 and EPC4 have ahigh ethylene content of between 70 and 90%. The difference between EPC3and EPC4 is the amount of material used in one or more of the films.More material is used in the EPC3 gloves, thereby producing a glovewhich is thicker and heavier than the EPC4 glove.

TABLE 6 Properties of EPC cut and sealed gloves Properties EPC 3 EPC 4Tensile Strength (MPa) 16 15 Elongation (%) 725 688 Deformation after100% stretch (%) 20 28 Thickness range (mm) 0.040 ± 0.002 0.025 ± 0.002Weight (grams) 2.5 1.5

Comparing these EPC gloves with a conventional polyethylene glove, theEPC gloves are more environmentally friendly and use virtually the sameamount of materials while producing a more durable glove. EPC gloves tonot include either a thermal stabilizer or a plasticizer.

Comparing the present invention utilizing an ethylene propylenecopolymer with that of polyvinyl chloride using the dipping process,this embodiment of the present invention is certainly moreenvironmentally friendly since no phthalate plasticizer is being used.Additionally, with almost the same amount of materials used, the presentinvention would last much longer than the glove produced by the cuttingand sealing process employing polyethylene.

A second embodiment of the present invention also overcomes the poorplastic deformation after stress produced by the prior art cutting andsealing process employing polyethylene to produce the multiple layers ofthe glove. In the second embodiment, this is accomplished by utilizingthermoplastic elastomers such as, but not limited to, SEBS and SIS,their mixtures as well as their blends. The use of these compositionsfor one, both, or additional film layers would produce a glove having athickness in the range of 0.03 mm to 0.1 mm with excellent filmintegrity, but also good elasticity, thereby reducing hand fatigue. Withimproved hand shape, not only would the glove be classified as trulyform fitting, but it would also exhibit improved durability as well asincreased thickness without increasing the weight.

EXAMPLE 5 Styrene-Ethylene-Butadiene-Styrene (“SEBS”)

The elasticity of SEBS comes from its butadiene segment, which is thesame segment which gives Nitrile gloves their elasticity. Thus, glovesmade from SEBS can be manufactured to be as comfortable as Nitrilegloves, and potentially more comfortable at higher thicknesses. Inadditional, as SEBS is a thermoplastic elastomer unlike Nitrile, it doesnot need a vulcanization process. Thus, SEBS is more environmentallyfriendly than is Nitrile. It is recognized that the tensile strength ofSEBS is lower than that of Nitrile due to its thermoplastic nature.However, the tensile strength of SEBS is at comparable to that of latex,and it is even stronger than vinyl gloves.

Additionally, the ethylene segment of SEBS provides compatibility tomany plastics and paraffin materials in substantially any ratio. Bytaking advantage of both plastic and rubbery materials, a wide range ofproducts can be formulated for a variety of applications, as desired.Table 7 illustrates several variations of SEBS materials and theirproperties.

TABLE 7 Properties of SEBS Formulations Properties SEBS I SEBS II SEBSIII SEBS IV Tensile Strength (MPa) 15 13 12 22 Elongation (%) 590 624603 555 Deformation after 100% 5 10 15 30 stretch (%) Thickness range(mm) 0.07 0.04 0.04 0.04 Weight (grams) 3.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

In Table 7, SEBS I is substantially pure SEBS. SEBS II is a SEBS/mineraloil formulation with a ratio of about 2:1. SEBS III is a SEBS/mineraloil formulation with a ratio of about 1:1. SEBS IV is a SEBS/PEformulation with a ratio of about 1:2

As can be seen, SEBS I-III demonstrate a fairly low change in elongationafter being stretched (i.e., plastic deformation). Thus, the varyingration of SEBS to mineral oil changed the elasticity of the formulationsrelatively little. The addition of mineral oil can impact costs, butlowers the tensile strength—and thus film integrity—of the materials.Further, SEBS IV, in which plastic polyethylene was added, shows adramatic improvement in tensile strength and costs less, but theelasticity is compromised.

EXAMPLE 6 Styrene-Isoprene-Styrene (“SIS”)

The elasticity of SIS comes from its isoprene segment, which is the samesegment which gives natural rubber latex its elasticity. Thus, glovesmade from SIS can be manufactured to be extremely elastic. Even atthicknesses as high as 0.1 mm, which exceed FDA and ASTM requirementsfor medical examination to provide satisfactory protection in unknowncircumstances, SIS gloves are comfortable to wearers. Table 8illustrates two variations of SIS materials and their properties.

TABLE 8 Properties of SIS Formulations Properties SIS I SIS II TensileStrength (MPa) 6.5 14.1 Elongation (%) 1300 924 Deformation after 100%stretch (%) 5 5 Thickness range (mm) 0.10 ± 0.05 0.10 ± 0.05 Weight(grams) 5.5 5.5

As can be seen, the SIS I formulation showed extreme elasticity, but SISII is much more balanced with respect to strength and elasticity. BothSIS I and SIS II formulations are substantially comprised of SIScopolymer. However, the two formulations have different copolymergrades. SIS I contains only about 17% of styrene and 83% of isoprene,whereas SIS II contains about 27% of styrene and 73% of isoprene. As theresult of these composition difference, the morphologies of theseformulations are also slight different. The micro-phase of styrenedomain in SIS I is spheres, but the micro-phase of SIS II is hexagonallypacked cylinders. The different compositions and micro-phases give SISII a higher tensile strength.

The process of producing a single use disposable glove employing thecutting and sealing process with the inventive compositions will now beexplained. The films used to produce the glove using the cutting andsealing process will be produced by an extrusion process such as, butnot limited to, blowing, casting and calendaring. The films would beplanar in nature and each of the films would be placed on top of oneanother on a flat surface. Although two films are generally used toproduce the single use disposable glove, it is possible to use aplurality of films. Once the planar films are placed on top of oneanother, a template knife in the shape and size of the glove is placedon the top surface and pressure is applied to cut these films in theshape of the applied template and, since the template is heated, the twoor more layers would be welded together to form the glove. As can beappreciated, the cuff of the glove would not be welded together allowingan opening for the placement of the user's hand within the producedglove.

As can be appreciated, each film layer can be produced by the differentcompositions, blends or mixtures of the materials to be used in thecutting and sealing process as previously described. The determinationof the composition of each of the films would be based upon the use towhich each glove would be directed.

While particular embodiments and applications of the present inventionhave been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to the precise construction and compositionsdisclosed herein and that various modification, changes, and variationsmay be apparent from the foregoing descriptions without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A single use disposable glove, comprising: at least one top layer comprising at least one layer film in the form of a hand; at least one bottom layer comprising a layer of film in the form of a hand, wherein a portion of the periphery of said at least one bottom layer is sealed to a portion of the periphery of said at least one top layer to form a glove; wherein an opening is provided between said at least one top layer and said at least one bottom layer for the insertion of a human hand between said at least one top layer and said at least one bottom layer, wherein at least one of said top layer and said bottom layer consists of between about 70% and 90% ethylene or propylene components.
 2. The glove of claim 1, wherein a thickness of said at least one top layer and said at least one bottom layer is between 0.03 mm and 0.06 mm
 3. The glove of claim 1, wherein deformation of said glove is between 10% and 30% after a 100% stretch.
 4. The glove of claim 1 wherein the weight of the glove is between 1.5 grams and 3.1 grams
 5. The glove of claim 1 wherein a weight of at least one of said top layer and bottom layer is approximately 30%-70% of the total glove weight.
 6. The glove of claim 1 wherein the thickness of one of the top layer and bottom layer is thicker than the other of said layers.
 7. The glove of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the top layer and bottom layer is approximately the same.
 8. The glove of claim 1 wherein at least one of the top layer and bottom layer consists of at least polyvinyl chloride.
 9. The glove of claim 9 wherein at least one of said top layer and bottom layer include DEHP, citrates, adipates, azelates, phosphates, trimellitates, chlorinated paraffin, or polyesters as a plasticizer. 